Bay Area a Mecca For New Residents / Contra Costa's population is soaring

Tanya Schevitz, Chronicle Staff Writer

Published 4:00 am, Thursday, January 1, 1998

1998-01-01 04:00:00 PDT REGION -- The Bay Area's population has soared by 355,000 residents since 1990, making it the nation's ninth fastest growing metropolitan region, according to U.S. Census figures released yesterday.

California's population grew by 1.3 percent, topping the 0.9 percent national growth rate. Census demographers attribute much of the growth to births and continuing international migration into the state.

"We had more births and fewer deaths and more people coming into the state," said Larry Hugg of the U.S. Census Bureau. "California has so many people to begin with, so the stock of population is so much larger."

Bay Area experts say the growth, which brings the region's population to 6.6 million, signals a strong recovery from the recession that sent people fleeing from the state in the early 1990s.

Census figures show that in the Bay Area, Contra Costa County's population rose 77,758, the highest percentage increase -- 9.7 percent -- between 1990 and 1996. But Santa Clara County's population saw the largest numerical increase, jumping from 1,497,577 to 1,599,604 residents.

In addition to nurturing new and relocated businesses, the Bay Area has been a leader in exports. Exports to Asia have increased 75 percent during the past three years, making the Santa Clara Export District the top in the United States, Baack said.

"As exports increase, your production increases, so you need a larger workforce to sustain that production," Baack said. "The creation of new companies, the growing of new companies and the increase in exports means there is a robust job market."

That encourages immigration from around the world, said Dan Stone, a regional planner with the Association of Bay Area Governments.

"They know (Silicon Valley) is going crazy. There have been billboards from companies saying check out our company. That makes national news and even international news," Stone said. "People see that and they think, 'Wow, I can go to Silicon Valley and make my millions.' "

He said the entire Bay Area has benefited from Silicon Valley's high profile. Between July 1995 and July 1996, 62,153 residents were added to the area, up from an increase of 29,953 the year before.

While California's growth percentage was dwarfed by Nevada's 4.8 percent rise, California had the highest numerical increase of any state, with the addition of more than 410,000 people from July 1996 to July 1997.

The Los Angeles-Riverside- Orange County area remained the second largest metropolitan area, behind only New York, and was the fastest growing metropolitan region in the country, with a population gain of 963,626 from 1990 to 1996.